Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Battle

//ˈbætl̩// adj, name, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of grass or pasture: nutritious to cattle or sheep; fattening, nourishing.
"battle grass battle pasture"
2
Of land (originally pastureland) or soil: fertile, fruitful. broadly
"battle land battle soil"

Proper Noun

1
A habitational surname from Middle English from places in England that have been sites of a battle.
2
A place name:; A town and civil parish with a town council in Rother district, East Sussex, England; supposed site of the Battle of Hastings (OS grid ref TQ7416).
3
A place name:; A hamlet in Yscir community, Powys, Wales (OS grid ref SO0131).
4
A place name:; A river in Saskatchewan, Canada.
5
A place name:; A former unincorporated community in Carbon County, Washington, United States. historical

Noun

1
A contest, a struggle.
"the battle of life"
2
an energetic attempt to achieve something wordnet
3
A contest, a struggle.; A one-on-one competition in rapping or breakdance.
4
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war wordnet
5
A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.

Show 4 more definitions

6
an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals) wordnet
7
A division of an army; a battalion. archaic
"Thenne kyng Arthur made redy his hooſt in x batails and Nero was redy in the felde afore the caſtel Tarabil with a grete hooſt / & he had x batails with many mo peple than Arthur had […]"
8
The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia. obsolete
"Iohn Duke of Norfolke, Thomas Earle of Surrey, Shall haue the leading of the Foot and Horſe. They thus directed, we will fllow ^([sic]) In the maine Battell, whose puiſſance on either ſide Shall be well-winged with our cheefeſt Horſe: This, and Saint George to boote."
9
Clipping of battle buddy. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping

Verb

1
To join in battle; to contend in fight intransitive
"Scientists always battle over theories."
2
To feed or nourish (someone or something). Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive
3
battle or contend against in or as if in a battle wordnet
4
To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with. transitive
"She has been battling cancer for years."
5
To render (land, soil, etc.) fertile or fruitful. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal, transitive
"To Devonſhire or Denſhire land. That is, to pare off the ſurface or top turf thereof, and to lay it upon heaps and burn it; vvhich aſhes are a marvelous improvement to battle barren land, by reaſon of the fixt ſalt vvhich they contain."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin battālia, variant of battuālia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battuō (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from a Gaulish or Proto-Germanic root from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to stab, dig”), related to Old English beado (“battle”); or possibly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of battalia and battel. Displaced native Old English ġefeoht, beado, camp, and wīg (“battle”), among others.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

From Early Modern English batell, probably from Middle English *batel (“flourishing”), from Old English *batol (“improving, tending to be good”), from batian (“to get better, improve”) + -ol ( + -le).

Etymology 4

Etymology 5

Capitalization of battle. Doublet of Battaglia.

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: battle